31 July, 2014

I’m still
alive. I don’t know what this means, but I can say that most of
the time I can still walk and do some work with people who need help.
It all depends on my luck. And here, for people living in Gaza,
luck means how close to you the bombs fall from Israel’s tanks,
planes, or warships. Some hours it’s raining bombs. Americans say
“It’s raining cats and dogs.” In the new Gaza idiom, we say
“It’s raining bombs and shells.”

Today I
started my day in the Red Crescent Society’s medical center. The
electricity has stopped, but the X-ray still functions, so we
received many patients. Let me share with you some of what I saw.

First is the
story of an unnamed child we called “Number 6.” He was around
three years and had identifying stickers on his arms saying “Unknown”
and “Number 6.” I was shocked and immediately asked the nurses
and ambulance drivers, “What is his name?” I was told no one
knew his name. They found him in a mass of destroyed houses and he
was the only survivor in his family. He had a head injury and wounds
on other parts of his body. Immediately I asked, “Doesn’t anyone
remember where the house was?” They said that in the area where
they found him, all the buildings were destroyed and the rubble was
mixed up with each other and sometimes the children’s bodies were
thrown from one area to another. So they didn’t know where he had
lived.

And then I
realized he’s Number 6, and that means there were five other
unknown children before him and many more children after him.

Second,
there is the story of Reem Ahmad, six years old. Reem arrived in the
X-ray unit also. She has a name and she used to have a family. She is
the only survivor of her family. She lost her parents and brothers
and sisters. She is injured in the head.

Third is the
story of a fifty-two year old woman who arrived at our clinic with
her son. Her son is a nurse and he was panicking. His mother had gone
outside to her garden to take care of her plants. Some shrapnel hit
her head and her son was crying like crazy and he said in very few
words “We are a simple family staying in our home. This shrapnel
flew all around the garden and hit my mom. I want my mom to live.”
This woman is named Buthaina el-Izraia.

Fourth is
the story of my colleague Afaf Jabar, a nurse on our team. Afaf lost
her daughter Leena, who was also a nurse, her two grandchildren and
her daughter’s husband when one bomb fell on their house in Bureij
refugee camp.

We have gone
through a lot in Gaza. But this is a new kind of war. Israel is
committing new massacres every day. In the Red Crescent clinic we
receive at least 200 patients a day. And we are not an emergency
clinic. A lot of diseases are appearing in Gaza because of the
Israeli destruction of the water systems, the electrical system and
ongoing stress and fear from over three weeks of bombings. People are
experiencing different illnesses: gastrointestinal problems,
diarrhea, breathing and skin problems, and most of the patients are
the most vulnerable of all, children.

Due to
the dramatic escalation in violence over the past few days and the
massive assault on Gaza, UNRWA has declared an emergency in all five
areas of the Gaza Strip. It is closely monitoring the situation and
stands ready to mount an emergency response should that become
necessary. The priority for the Agency has now shifted to emergency
operations, providing assistance to those who have been displaced and
sought shelter in UNRWA schools, while attempting to continue regular
operations. Urgent funding needs persist and are increasing

Key
parts:

“Nothing
and nobody is safe in Gaza. To date,
seven UNRWA staff members were killed. This morning,
for at least the sixth time, one of UNRWA’s emergency shelters has
been struck. In accordance with international law, including the
1946 Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,
United Nations operations, personnel and premises must remain
inviolable. There are limitations to UNRWA’s capacity to continue
operations amid these conditions. Under International Humanitarian
Law, Israel, as the Occupying Power of the Gaza Strip, bears the
primary responsibility for ensuring the protection of the Palestinian
civilian population and ensuring that their basic needs are met. ”

“Since
last night, over 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are
sheltered in 85 UNRWA schools. Whereas UNRWA staff have worked
round the clock in this unprecedented crisis, with inadequate
resources and in an increasingly deteriorating security environment,
UNRWA does not have infinite capacity to absorb an increasing IDP
influx. The remaining empty UNRWA school buildings are either
inaccessible or unsafe, and other shelter solutions, for example
tents, are not viable options for Gaza. With the current
escalation entering its fourth week, there is a very real fear of a
public health disaster through a disease outbreak given the lack of
proper water and sanitation facilities in the designated shelters.
It is also becoming increasingly unlikely the new school year will
start on 24 August.”

“To
date, the total number of Palestinian deaths reported by the UN
stands at 1,130. This figure has risen by 24 compared to that
reported in the previous 24 hour period. The number of
wounded, as reported by the Ministry of Health, has reached 7,150.
According to various media outlets, the
number of Israeli casualties is 53 soldiers and 3 civilians.”

“Past
24 hours: Last night witnessed particularly heavy shelling in the
North. In the early morning of 30 July, an
UNRWA school in Jabalia that sheltered about 3,300 people was
shelled, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.
Initial investigations suggest that it was Israeli artillery that hit
the school. In his statement, UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre
Krähenbühl condemned the attack: 'We have visited the site and
gathered evidence. We have analysed fragments, examined craters and
other damage. We believe there were at least three impacts. It is
too early to give a confirmed official death toll. These are people
who were instructed to leave their homes by the Israeli army. The
precise location of the Jabalia Elementary Girls School and the fact
that it was housing thousands of internally displaced people was
communicated to the Israeli army seventeen times, to ensure its
protection; the last being at ten to nine last night, just
hours before the fatal shelling.'”

“It
is at least the sixth time an UNRWA emergency shelter was struck.
There is widespread fear amongst the displaced and UNRWA staff about
the deteriorating security environment. Gazans feel that there is no
safe place in the entire Gaza Strip, and that not even the UN can
protect them.”

“Also
in Jabalia on 29 July, a staff member was killed when driving in an
UNRWA vehicle. Earlier that day, two UNRWA staff members died when an
explosive projectile struck a private home in Nuseirat. UNRWA is
deeply saddened to have lost seven staff members since 7 July 2014.”

“Gaza’s
sole power plant shut down after being hit and damaged. The repair is
going to take up to a year, thus dramatically exacerbating the Gazan
electricity crisis. OCHA reported that following the damage of
the power plant, Gaza City is receiving electricity for about two
hours a day, while localities in the Middle Area have no supply at
all. The destruction of the Gaza power plant will impact private
households, companies and public services provision, including water,
sanitation and health facilities. Facilities need to rely on
generators, which are both costly and are fire hazards. Moreover,
there is reportedly no fuel available on the local market.”

“Before
the conflict, UNRWA, based on historical patterns, planned to deal
with 35,000 to 50,000 displaced people in its installations. UNRWA
has exceeded its anticipated number of displaced four times over.”

“Reportedly
there were 56 rockets and 38 mortar shells fired towards Israel.
There were also reports that 137 missiles were fired into Gaza in
addition to 97 navy shells. The IDF – inside Gaza or
positioned at the border – fired 822 tank shells in to populated
areas. Reportedly, 43 houses were bombarded.”

“Four
additional UNRWA installations were reported damaged during this
period, all of them schools. An estimated 101 UNRWA installations
have been damaged since 1 June, 2014, many of them on multiple
occasions. UNRWA is still to verify this number when the security
situation allows.”

“While
the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip is the major focus of events,
the people of many West Bank cities are infuriated by toll inflicted
by 'Protective Edge.' Nine Palestinians in
all have been killed in the West Bank, six of them on 25 July alone,
which had been dubbed a 'Day of Rage.' Many others were wounded.”

“Palestinian
journalists were among the injured. On 26 July, journalist Rami
Al-Khatib, as well as Moaz Mish’al, a photographer for Agence
Anatolia, a Turkish press agency, were wounded by rubber bullets
while covering confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli troops
in Beit El, north of Jerusalem. The day before, journalist Thaer Abu
Baker was wounded by Israeli gunfire in Jenin, in the northern West
Bank.”

“Nader
Beibars, producer of the daily 'Good Morning Jerusalem' program on
Palestine TV, was hit by a rubber bullet in the Wadi Al-Joz
neighourhood of Jerusalem on 24 July. The same day, other news
professionals were also wounded. Among them were Zakkariyya Al-Salhi,
editor at Ramsat Co., and Shadi Hatem, a photographer for Raya FM,
who were hit by Israeli fire as troops were trying to break up a
Palestinian demonstration at the Qalandia border checkpoint in north
Jerusalem.”

“On 23
July, Israeli security forces arrested Raya TV correspondent Mahmoud
Abu Khdeir, at his home in the Shuafat neighborhood in East
Jerusalem. According to MADA, the Palestinian Centre for Media and
Development, the journalist was scheduled to appear in an Israeli
court on 28 July. On 21 July, freelance photographer Amjad Arafa
was wounded in the shoulder near Al-Makassed Hospital in East
Jerusalem, and received emergency treatment.”

“A
BBC Arabic correspondent was attacked the same day by an Israeli
private citizen. Firas Al-Khatib, was in the midst of a live
broadcast from the Gaza border when the Israeli physically and
verbally attacked him in full view of the camera. A member of the TV
crew intervened to protect the journalist.”

“Meanwhile,
Israel is going beyond its military censorship procedures to exert
control over program content. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority
prohibited on 24 July the broadcast of a spot produced by B’Tselem,
an Israeli NGO, which listed the names of 150
children killed in Gaza.”

30 July, 2014

German
newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung interviewed Alexandros Avataggelos who
admitted that Greece bought German submarines at high prices to secure
entry to euro! Alexandros Avathagelos had been jailed in Korydallos
prison for the submarine scandal with German firm HDW.

“Mr
Avataggelos talks of a time when plenty of money was flowing in the
arms market. 'Until the turn of the millennium European governments
spent a lot of money on weapon procurments and Greece, before the
crisis, was a very good customer,' he said.”

“The
Greek government bought much and gladly at high prices. Decisions
rarely had to do with weapon system value.”

“As
Süddeutsche Zeitung adds, there was no real competition. The arms
procurement was always a political decision 'Greece bought submarines
in order to enter the euro. 80% went for that cause. Socialist Kostas
Simitis was in power in Athens at the time and social-democrat
Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin. The sale was important to HDW and the
SPD constituency in northern Germany,' says Avataggelos.”

It
is worth to notice that under "Socialist" PM Kostas
Simitis, Greece entered the neoliberal era of banking lending and
bubble economy. He and his "close group" in the government
are remembered as the "modernizers", and this period marked
the beginning of transformation of the Socialist party into a
neoliberal political formation. In essence, "modernization"
was the word that had been used instead of "neoliberalism".

It
is also worth to notice that Yannis Stournaras, former Minister of
Finance and current Governor of the Bank of Greece, who has been the
most willing to adopt the destructive neoliberal policies that the
Troika lenders imposed to Greece, has also worked as a financial
advisor to the Greek Ministry of Finance, participating in the
negotiations for Greece's entry into the European Monetary Union,
under Simitis administration.

Lucas
Papademos, the banker who replaced George Papandreou when the later
announced his government's intentions to hold a referendum for the
acceptance of the terms of the eurozone bailout deal, was also
involved in Greece's transition from the drachma to the euro as its
national currency, under Simitis administration.

And
"remarkably", current Greek Minister of Finance, Gikas
Hardouvelis*, who replaced Yannis Stournaras, was Director of the
Economic Office of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, during
2000–2004.

The
most remarkable, however, under Simitis administration, is the speed
with which Greece followed the "new brilliant era", coming
from the US, when the Clinton administration delivered the economy to
the hands of the bankers and big companies, promising prosperity
through the supposedly "free market".** A prosperity that,
eventually, never came ...

Due to
the dramatic escalation in violence over the past few days and the
massive assault on Gaza, UNRWA has declared an emergency in all five
areas of the Gaza Strip. It is closely monitoring the situation and
stands ready to mount an emergency response should that become
necessary. The priority for the Agency has now shifted to emergency
operations, providing assistance to those who have been displaced and
sought shelter in UNRWA schools, while attempting to continue regular
operations. Urgent funding needs persist and are increasing

Key
parts:

“The
total number of Palestinian deaths reported by the Protection Cluster
currently stands at 1106 and the number of wounded, as
reported by the Ministry of Health has reached 6600. The number of
displaced people taking refuge in UNRWA shelters is now more than
triple the peak number from the 2008/9 conflict and is approaching
10% of the entire population of Gaza, with approximately 182,604 in
82 schools.”

“UNRWA
is working desperately to meet the needs of a growing population of
displaced across the Gaza Strip and to prepare for even further
displacement.”

“Reportedly
there were 68 rockets and 88 mortar shells fired towards Israel.
There were also reports that 161 missiles were fired into Gaza in
addition to 450 navy shells. 1392 tank shells were fired from the
border area in to populated areas. Reportedly, 49 houses were
bombarded. UNRWA is deeply saddened to
have received reports of a fifth staff member killed overnight.”

“Three
UNRWA installations were reported damaged during this period, all of
them schools. In one school serving as a shelter, UNRWA has received
initial reports that a number of IDPs were injured when a shell
struck the building. An estimated 97 UNRWA installations have been
damaged since 1 June, 2014, many of them on multiple occasions.
UNRWA is still to verify this number when the security situation
allows.”

...
while the hydrolysis process is probably taking place onboard right
now!

globinfo
freexchange

The Greek
government doesn't care about this serious matter concerning the
dissolution of the Syrian chemicals in Mediterranean according to the
activists who organized a boat mission* to find Cape Ray. Cape Ray is
the ship where the hydrolysis process is taking place onboard.** The
mission boats sailed off from Chania-Crete to find Cape Ray, but they
didn't manage to locate it.

During the
press conference, Vangelis Pissias, one of the organizers of the
mission, criticized Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Evangelos Venizelos, stating that he doesn't know what is
going on in his country and he doesn't speak with the American
officials who behave like preponderant [over country's decisions].

The mayor of
Sfakia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sfakia),
Pavlos Polakis, stated that, according to information from the
mission members, hydrolysis is taking place just 75-100 miles from
Crete's shores.

The
activists referred to the details of the trip and their efforts to
locate and approach Cape Ray. However, they didn't manage to locate
it finally, due to the bad weather conditions and because the ship
changed its location. They claimed that their mission was under
surveillance.

According to
the activists' website
(http://destruction-of-chemical-weapons.blogspot.gr/),
a coast guard boat was discreetly following the boats of the mission
during the first hours of sailing, while subsequently they were under
surveillance by a drone and a helicopter.

There is a
suspicious silence about the issue. No one is giving clear
explanations and guarantees about the process of hydrolysis which for
the first time is conducted onboard in Mediterranean. The absence of
environmental organizations is characteristic, while the Organisation
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) refers to US
authorities. Why is there such a secrecy of the location of Cape Ray?
Why there are no independent observers onboard to supervise the
process?

The only
reasonable explanation is that, in reality, there is no absolute
guarantee for the safety of the process, and those who are
responsible don't want witnesses in a potential accident and
subsequent environmental disaster.

Due to
the dramatic escalation in violence over the past few days and the
massive assault on Gaza, UNRWA has declared an emergency in all five
areas of the Gaza Strip. It is closely monitoring the situation and
stands ready to mount an emergency response should that become
necessary. The priority for the Agency has now shifted to emergency
operations, providing assistance to those who have been displaced and
sought shelter in UNRWA schools, while attempting to continue regular
operations. Urgent funding needs persist and are increasing

Key
parts:

“The
total number of Palestinian deaths reported by the Protection Cluster
currently stands at 1,067 and the number of wounded, as
reported by the Ministry of Health has reached 6,233. The number of
displaced people taking refuge in UNRWA shelters is now more than
triple the peak number from the 2008/9 conflict and is approaching
10% of the entire population of Gaza, with approximately 170,461 in
82 schools.”

“Tragically,
over 1,000 Palestinians were killed, with
the figure reported by the Protection Cluster today standing at
1,067. According to preliminary data from the protection cluster, 137
Palestinians were reported during this period as killed, which
includes those whose bodies were retrieved and identified during the
past 24- hour period. This figure includes 6 women and 13 children.
OCHA, using protection cluster data, reports that children make up 30
percent of civilian casualties.”

“An
average of 2,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are taking
refuge in each of the 82 UNRWA shelters, schools which normally have
the capacity to accommodate only 500 people, and have not been
designed as living spaces.”

“If
hostilities cease on a longer term basis, IDPs taking refuge in UNRWA
shelters will be returning to their homes. Many will find that their
homes have been totally destroyed or have sustained major damage.
Many IDPs fled their homes with nothing and have lost everything in
the subsequent destruction of a number of neighborhoods.”

“Reportedly
there were 45 rockets and 60 mortar shells fired towards Israel.
There were also reports that 45 missiles were fired into Gaza in
addition to 100 navy shells and 460 tank shells. Reportedly, 16
houses were bombarded.”

“An
estimated 94 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 1 June,
2014, many of them on multiple occasions. UNRWA is still to
verify this number when the security situation allows. No additional
installations were damaged during this period.”

28 July, 2014

Arms
industry business and weapons for military regimes to suppress
population resistance

globinfo
freexchange

After the
short "ceasefire" between Washington and Tehran in previous
months, Tel Aviv lost some of its value for the US from all the
previous years. Seeing this gap, Berlin is trying to take advantage
and open doors to the regimes of this region (mainly S. Arabia and
Israel) which are not happy with the temporary "ceasefire"
between the US and Iran.

These two
regimes have a common characteristic: They are transformed
progressively into the key buyers of the German weapon systems.
Berlin is aligned with the official Western-Israeli position of the
"right for self-defence", not only because Germany tries to
get rid of the WWII heritage, but also because it wants to "refresh"
its arms industry.

Germany does
not care to whom is selling weapons, whether these weapons will be
used against population inside countries, like in the case of Bahrain
or S. Arabia and knows very well that these countries do have enough
money to buy weapons. It's worth to remember that Germany sold 6
nuclear submarines to Israel, tanks and many more.

Israel can
play a critical role in this case by blocking Germany to sell weapons
in other countries and the most characteristic example until now was
S. Arabia. During the latest months we see the reverse of this
situation as S. Arabia ordered 200 tanks from Germany with special
equipment to be used in urban centers against its population in case
of serious riots. This has been done with the approval of Israel and
this is an economic parameter of the situation in the Middle East for
Angela Merkel.

But Israel
is also doing business with the situation in Gaza. Those who have
visited exhibitions of defence systems in the US and Europe, should
have noticed that the weapon systems used in conflicts between
countries have been replaced by other systems for controlling
population in urban areas. Israelis are using videos from previous
attacks in Gaza to demonstrate, for example, drones or other military
equipment which has been used against Palestinians.

So, this is
another, more "crude", reason behind the ongoing crime in
Gaza. War is business, but it seems that Palestinians are used also
for the promotion of cruel military regimes ready to use the most
sophisticated suppression methods to drown any attempt for resistance
by the people inside countries.

Key
information from an interview with Aris Chatzistefanou at the free part of the Hellenic Public
Broadcaster - ET3

Due to
the dramatic escalation in violence over the past few days and the
massive assault on Gaza, UNRWA has declared an emergency in all five
areas of the Gaza Strip. It is closely monitoring the situation and
stands ready to mount an emergency response should that become
necessary. The priority for the Agency has now shifted to emergency
operations, providing assistance to those who have been displaced and
sought shelter in UNRWA schools, while attempting to continue regular
operations. Urgent funding needs persist and are increasing

Key
parts:

“The
total number of Palestinian deaths reported by the Protection Cluster
currently stands at 930 and the number of wounded, as
reported by the Ministry of Health has reached 6,030. The number of
displaced people taking refuge in UNRWA shelters is now more than
triple the peak number from the 2008/9 conflict, and exceeds 167,269
in 83 schools.”

“Some
found their homes destroyed and many found scenes of massive
destruction; many others were unable to visit their homes due to
ongoing access restrictions imposed in the 3km ‘buffer zone’.”

“The
Palestinian death toll, according to data from the protection
cluster, has now reached 930 with the majority of those reported to
be civilians. This includes 21 Palestinians reported as killed during
this period, including 1 child. Those killed during this conflict
tragically include 20 members of one family, including eleven
children, reported by OCHA using protection cluster data, as killed
in one airstrike early on 26 July before the ceasefire
came into effect. According to Ministry of Health figures, 6,030
Palestinians have been injured in the current conflict.”

“Access
to food is becoming an increasing issue of concern in Gaza. Some
areas are reporting large crowds outside of bakeries and that many
items are no longer available on the local market.”

“Since
this distribution round commenced, the daily number of beneficiaries
collecting food rations at UNRWA Distribution Centers has been more
than double regular numbers, as people are desperate to receive
rations as early as possible. Regular food distribution is also being
put under increased pressure by the closure of UNRWA Distribution
Centers in Deir El Baleh, Toffah, Beit Hanoun and Khan Younis East
due to heightened insecurity.”

“Reportedly
there were 55 rockets and 3 mortar shells fired towards Israel.
There were also reports that 9 missiles were fired into Gaza in
addition to 123 tank shells. Reportedly, 3 houses were bombarded.
UNRWA is deeply saddened to report that a
fourth UNRWA staff member was killed early yesterday morning.”

“A
total of 94 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 1 June,
2014, many of them on multiple occasions. In the past 24 hours, one
UNRWA School was damaged in Beit Hanoun.”

Due to
the dramatic escalation in violence over the past few days and the
massive assault on Gaza, UNRWA has declared an emergency in all five
areas of the Gaza Strip. It is closely monitoring the situation and
stands ready to mount an emergency response should that become
necessary. The priority for the Agency has now shifted to emergency
operations, providing assistance to those who have been displaced and
sought shelter in UNRWA schools, while attempting to continue regular
operations. Urgent funding needs persist and are increasing

Key
parts:

“According
to the Protection Cluster, 68 Palestinians
have been reported killed during this period, including 10 women and
13 children. The total number of Palestinian deaths reported by the
Protection Cluster currently stands at 907 and the
number of wounded, as reported by the Ministry of Health has reached
5,860. The number of displaced people is now more than triple the
peak number from the 2008/9 conflict, and exceeds 162,862 in 83
schools.”

“Numbers
of Internally Displaced people (IDPs) in UNRWA shelters continue to
increase, now exceeding 162,862. In addition, an estimated 20,000
IDPs are reported to be sheltering with relatives and in public
schools, mosques, churches, unfinished buildings and open areas.
After more than two weeks of escalating conflict, some areas are
reporting that families hosting IDPs in their homes are no longer
able to support displaced family members, leading to some increase in
numbers seeking refuge in UNRWA shelters.”

“Psychosocial
counselors are in place in shelters to support people, especially
children, in coping with their experiences of fear and loss.”

“Babies
continue to be born to women staying in UNRWA shelters, with mother
and child then returning to the difficult circumstances in shelters,
in the absence of any other safe place in Gaza. These women have
expressed their wish for an end to the conflict and to be able to
return to their homes.”

“UNFPA
has expressed concern about the impact of the conflict on women’s
health and their access to safe births, with an estimated 45,000
women pregnant women in Gaza in need of maternity care and an
estimated 5,000 of these displaced by the current conflict.OCHA
reports a rise in the numbers of child mortalities, miscarriages and
premature births among pregnant women.”

“Access
to maternal health services is increasingly limited in the face of
attacks against health facilities and increased pressure on services.
Overnight, there were reports of heavy shelling at Beit Hanoun
hospital, and it has been reported that six out of thirteen hospitals
in Gaza have now been severely damaged during this conflict. In
addition, WHO has previously reported critical concerns with hospital
supplies due to large numbers of casualties and serious shortages
even before the current conflict.”

“While
regular food distribution and sanitation services were not provided
during this period due to it being a Friday, high levels of
insecurity and an expanded 3km Israeli- imposed ‘buffer zone’
have been preventing solid waste removal in Maghazi and Bureij;
access to an UNRWA warehouse containing vital food and NFI supplies
in the north of the Gaza Strip; access to two NFI stores; operation
of four centers for regular distribution of emergency food; and
provision of water to a shelter in Maghazi.”

“Reportedly
there were 80 rockets and 28 mortar shells fired towards Israel.
There were also reports that 98 missiles were fired into Gaza in
addition to 90 navy shells and 989 tank shells. Reportedly, 35 houses
were bombarded.”

“A
total of 93 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 1 June,
2014, many of them on multiple occasions. In the past 24 hours, one
UNRWA School was damaged.”

When the
Israeli forces attacked Mavi Marmara in 2010, 9 activists executed
in cold blood. There were 700 unarmed in the ship which was trying to
reach Gaza to distribute humanitarian material.

The
propaganda mechanism by Israel was similar, the way Israel tried to
build an "umbrella" to block any information on what was
really happening. Journalists and activists of the mission spent 2 or
3 days in prison at the time when the international community was
focusing on this event, exactly to prevent anyone to give any
information about the cruelty of this operation and the executions by
the Israeli forces.

Israel
manages to do this to a great extend, especially in the US, if one
look at the information reproduced by the media. The average viewer
will understand the right of Israel for self-defence against some
improvised rockets, while will not take into account that hundreds
have been killed, most of them children, women and generally
civilians, by the Israeli forces.

Generally,
the governments of the countries where we can see massive protests
against Israel follow its policy, through which tries to equalize
every criticism against the state of Israel with the anti-Semitism.
This is a steady tactic followed for years. Anyone who criticizes the
Palestinian genocide is also refuser of the Holocaust. This is the
extreme version of the argument that is reproduced with various ways.

We see an
isolation of journalists and academics who criticize Israel as have
been attacked by specific centers. In the US this is more obvious,
one can see academics who have been isolated. Although it is more
difficult, this is happening in Greece too.

During the
last months it was like they were trying to prepare public opinion,
with the mainstream media focusing on the level of anti-Semitism in
Greece based on data which are quite far from the reality.*

Key
information from an interview with Aris Chatzistefanou at the free part of the Hellenic Public
Broadcaster - ET3

26 July, 2014

Regular
reports on the growing Poverty, Unemployment, Debt and Inequality of
the neo-capitalist world

Greece:

“Greece
ranks first in the eurozone and fourth among the 28 members of the
European Union for the percentage of its citizens living on or below
the poverty line, according to a new report.”

“The
study, conducted by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial
Research (IOBE), found that just over a third (34.6%) of Greeks –
some 3,795,100 individuals – were living on less than 60% of the
national median income in 2013. This percentage has risen steadily
since 2010, when the country began implementing austerity measures,
increasing from 27.6% in 2010 to 27.7% the following year, 31% in
2012 and 34.6% in 2013.”

“Elstat’s
data showed that the risk of poverty has increased significantly in
Greece since 2010 and the percentage of relative poverty increased by
17.3%, or 3.4 percentage points. In the same period, the poverty gap
increased by 24.1% and the risk of poverty and social exclusion by
seven points, or 25.4%.”

“Greece's
poverty rate also outstripped other EU countries that have entered
austerity programmes. In Ireland the rate is 30%, in Spain 28.2%, in
Cyprus 27.1% and Portugal 25.3%.”

“Unemployment
in France rose to a new high in May, according to official data
released on Thursday, with 24,800 more people seeking jobs, bringing
the total number of those without work to a record 3.388 million.”

“The
number represented an overall 0.7 percent increase during the month
of April, the country’s Labour Ministry reported. The news doesn’t
bode well for the government of President François Hollande, who
pledged to stem rising unemployment in France during his 2012
election campaign. The promise, however, has proven difficult to
keep.”

“'The
unemployment numbers are bad, but at the same time they are not
fatalistic,' Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. He also stressed the
importance of the government’s so-called 'responsibility pact,'
which seeks to shave 50 billion euros off the budget* and
stimulate job creation, in reversing the trend."

“About
one percent of Chinese households own one-third of the nation's
wealth, raising concerns about income inequality in the world's most
populous country, according to a study by Peking University.”

“Chinese
households on average had a net worth of 439,000 yuan (about 71,000
U.S. dollars) in 2012, up 17 percent from the 2010 level, the
university's Institute of Social Science Survey said Friday in its
latest report on China's livelihood development. However, income
inequality rose rapidly during the period, the report said, as the
top one percent of Chinese households held more than one-third of the
nation's wealth, while 25 percent of households at the bottom owned
only 10 percent of the country's property value.”